Food

Here at College News HQ, we secretly love the colder months, not least for the opportunity to wrap up, eat seasonal, warming food and get stuck into a good book. Join us and get into the winter spirit with this super warming chicken sausage stew. With these ingredients already lurking in your pantry (and nutrient-and-protein-rich to boot), this recipe offers an easy, guilt-free supper for those colder nights. For a chunkier soup, add cubed squash, carrots or sliced celery.

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 tbsp oil

340g fully cooked chicken sausages, sliced

2 garlic cloves, sliced

2 cups cannellini beans, rinsed

425ml chicken broth

425g diced tomatoes

1 bunch kale leaves, torn

Salt and pepper, to taste

Slices crusty bread, to serve

Method

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Add chicken sausage and cook until browned for about 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Stir in the garlic, and cook for a further 2 minutes.

Add the cannellini beans, broth and tomatoes to the pan and bring to the boil.

Stir in the kale and season to taste. Simmer until kale has wilted (this may take 2-3 minutes).

This chocolate tart recipe is perfect for presenting a posh dessert at a dinner party but with minimal fuss. While our quick and easy chocolate tart makes an indulgent, sumptuous pudding on its own, you can add citrus elements like lemon or lime juice for more adventurous flair. Give it a go.

Ingredients

Dark chocolate (70%)

200ml milk

350ml double cream

3 eggs, beaten

1 ready baked tart case

Preparation

Melt the chocolate and reserve. Mix the milk and cream together.

Bring to the boil, pour on to the eggs, whisk together.

Pass this mix straight on to the melted chocolate.

Pour into ready baked tart case, place into the preheated oven at 350F/gas mark 4 and bake for 25 to 30 minutes.

Pumpkins are more than just lantern fodder for Halloween, you know. This hardy root vegetable is harvested September through October and is an excellent health source to get you through the colder months. Filled to the brim with fiber, potassium and vitamin C, these striking orange-colored veggies support heart health and regulate blood pressure. Pumpkin seeds alone are dense with nutrients and antioxidants that are linked to a reduced risk of certain cancers and they improve heart health, providing a flavorful healthy snack. Wash pumpkin seeds after gutting the vegetable before storing.

Go on, get in the fall spirit with our hearty—and super tasty—pumpkin soup; the perfect meal for lunch with a book.

Serves 4

Ingredients

600g pumpkin flesh, chopped

2 celery sticks, chopped

1 garlic clove, crushed

1 tsp cumin

1tsp coriander

800ml vegetable stock

200ml coconut milk

1 tsp pumpkin seeds

Method

Using a food processor, whiz the pumpkin flesh until nearly smooth. Then add celery, garlic, cumin and coriander and process for an extra 30 seconds. Empty the mixture into a large pan.

Pour vegetable stock and coconut milk into the mixture and combine. Bring to the boil and simmer for about 15 minutes.

When ready, pour into a food processor and whiz until smooth. Spoon into bowls and garnish with pumpkin seeds. Excess soup can be stored in airtight containers in the freezer.

These easy-to-make chocolate truffles are the perfect indulgence for when the nights draw in and the fall edges ever closer. Our tasty chocolate truffles are delicious on their own, or you could shake things up with different toppings including cocoa powder, crushed pistachio or cashew nuts or desiccated coconut. Go on, give it a go!

Ingredients

300g dark chocolate, 70% cocoa solids

1 ½ cups double cream

50g unsalted butter

Method

Break the chocolate up into small pieces and place into a bowl.

Pour the cream and butter into a sauce pan and gently heat until the butter melts and the cream reaches simmering point.

Pour the cream and butter mixture over the chocolate and combine until smooth. Cool and chill for at least 4 hours.

To shape the truffles, scoop up the truffle mixture with a melon baller or a spoon, and shape into balls with clean hands.

Chicken panzanella is a Tuscan salad consisting of rustic bread croutons, olives, onion and an assortment of tomatoes. Include tomatoes of all shapes, sizes and colors—whatever you have available. Put your stale bread to good use: aging sourdough, ciabatta or chunky wholemeal work best. Combine with leftover chicken or stick to the vegetarian version.

Serves 4

Ingredients

4 large chicken thighs

3 cups assorted of tomatoes

1 roughly torn ciabatta (or any bread available)

½ roughly chopped red onion

½ cup roughly chopped peppers

2 cloves garlic

1 sprig fresh thyme

2 tsp. dried oregano

Olive oil

2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar

½ cup pitted black olives

1 sprig fresh basil

Parmesan

Method

Preheat oven to 350F, then rub the chicken with oil and seasoning. If using leftover chicken that is pre-seasoned, simply coat with oil.

Add roughly torn ciabatta, onion and peppers to the baking tray. Crush and add the garlic cloves. Sprinkle fresh thyme and dried oregano over the tray’s contents along with a glug of oil. Mix together by hand, coating the vegetables and bread.

Lay the chicken on top of the ingredients and put in the oven to bake.

Cook for approximately 1½ hours or until the juices of the meat run clear. If cooked chicken is being used, reduce the baking time to 30 minutes.

Remove from oven and drizzle the balsamic vinegar over the ingredients.

Mix the hot ingredients with the remaining cold tomatoes and olives. Finally, season the chicken panzanella with salt and pepper; garnish with fresh basil and Parmesan shavings.

This makeshift peach and berry crumble is the perfect sweet treat that uses overly ripe fruit. The soft consistency of the ripe fruit makes them perfect for this dish. Crumble can be made with almost any fruit combination; you could stick to classic pairings like apple and blackberry or dare to go bold with pineapple, apricot and ginger. Ideally, use what you have already stocked.

Serves 8

Ingredients

6 peeled soft peaches

2 cups mixed berries

1 orange for juice and zest

3 tsp. corn flour

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 cup plain flour

1 cup golden caster sugar

1 tsp. baking powder

2 tbsp. mixed oats

1 tsp. grated nutmeg

1 medium egg

½ cup unsalted butter

Method

Preheat oven to 375F, then line a shallow baking dish with butter.

Slice the peaches and place them on the bottom of the buttered dish with the mixed berries.

Mix the juice and zest of the orange with the corn flour, ½ demerara sugar, cinnamon and a pinch of salt. Sprinkle this over the peaches.

For the topping, mix the flour, caster sugar, baking powder, oats and nutmeg together. Add the eggs and combine to form a coarse crumb. Place on top of the peach mixture and drizzle with melted unsalted butter.

Tasty, sugary treats every once in a while, are good for the soul. These gorgeous chocolate rose petal cookies are enough to get the mouth salivating, and are simple to make, too!

Ingredients

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 cup cake flour

110 grams Butter at room temperature

60 grams Icing sugar

1 egg, lightly beaten

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 tbsp. rose petals

Chocolate glaze

Method

To begin preparation for the chocolate rose petal cookies, stir together flour and baking powder. Beat together the butter and sugar until light and creamy. Gradually add in the egg and vanilla extract and beat until well-combined.

Add in the sifted flour mixture and rose petals. Cover the batter in greaseproof wrapper and chill for 1 hour.

Shape dough into 1-inch balls and place 2-inch apart on the tray lined with a baking paper. Lightly flatten them with a spoon.

Bake in the middle part of the preheated 350F oven for about 18-20 minutes.

Remove to wire racks and cool completely. Dip with the chocolate glaze.

Easy, tasty and nutritious, this mushroom risotto recipe is perfect for the time-pressed student. Here, we offer the basic ingredients, but you can play around with them to suit your liking. Throw in other seasonal vegetables like peas, carrots, butternut squash, broccoli and beets for a varied dish with extra nutrients. If you’re a meat eater, stir in diced chicken or beef and swap the vegetable broth for chicken.

This mushroom risotto recipe serves four.

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil

1 large onion, thinly chopped

2 cups frozen green peas

2 cups mushrooms, roughly chopped

2 tbsp dried thyme

1 tbsp sea salt

2 cups risotto rice

5 cups vegetable broth

2 tbsp nutritional yeast, optional

1 bulb garlic, ground

1 tsp black pepper, ground

5 cups baby spinach

Parmesan, optional

Method

Preheat olive oil in a large skillet, or use a medium-sized pot.

Stir in the onions, peas, mushrooms, thyme and salt and sauté for around five minutes.

How do you get the stone out of an avocado? You cut open the skin, halve the green body and find a big stone inside. A surprising majority of people use a knife (!) to jab the stone out. Unfortunately, due to the soft nature of the fruit and how slippery the seed is, a jab of the knife can give you a nasty cut, known as “avocado hand”.

Doctors have reported a rise in avocado-related injuries since its surge in popularity in recent years. People grasp the avocado while cutting it instead of using a surface or chopping board, leaving a number of vital tendons and bones in the direct path of the blade should things not go according to plan.

If the knife pushes deep enough through the avocado towards the hand holding it, it can sever the tendons that work the fingers. If the nerves are damaged it can potentially cause permanent loss of movement in part of the hand. Often, tendon injuries will need surgery to repair damage.

Even the rich and famous aren’t immune to “avocado hand”. Meryl Streep turned up to promote the film Hope Springs (2012) in New York sporting a big white bandage. She lost a fight against an avocado and had to have surgery to prevent the injury from causing any further complications.

Another potential hazard associated with “avocado hand” is the vegetable matter itself. Even if the wound isn’t severe enough to warrant a trip to hospital, bits of the avocado could have been pushed into your hand by the blade. This can easily cause infections as it decomposes inside you. As this gets worse, it affects your fingers. Who knew that avocados could cause you to lose the use of certain fingers or even your entire hand?!

Be careful when preparing your instagrammable brunch!

In the UK, a supermarket chain aims to end “avocado hand” once and for all. Marks & Spencer have started selling cocktail avocados. They are about five to eight centimeters long and don’t contain a stone, making them much easier to cut.

Marks & Spencer say that you may not even need to use a knife on them because the skin is soft enough to eat! These new avocados aren’t necessarily the product of some kind of genetic modification—they are simply grown from an unpollinated avocado blossom.

Make sure you’re eating foods high in vitamins in order to get the nutrients you need without buying expensive supplements.

As a student, it can be so easy to stick to eating the same foods everyday. You know what you like, you know how to make it, so why not? Unfortunately, eating just instant noodles and pizza may cause nutrient deficiencies. You need to make sure you’re getting the nutrients you need in your diet to keep yourself healthy.

The problem is, there are so many different vitamins and minerals all doing different things for your body. It can be hard to keep track on what you need to eat, and buying vitamin supplements isn’t always the cheapest option.

While you should be eating a wide variety of foods high in vitamins in order to receive the nutrition you need. Here are four things you can include in your diet to easily get a wide range of nutrients.

Dark leafy greens

Leafy greens like spinach and kale provide you with lots of different vitamins with very little hassle. These can contain vitamin K, vitamin A, iron, calcium, folate, magnesium and omega 3. These nutrients support healthy eyesight, strong bones and brain health among other things. Include leafy greens in a side salad or whizz them up in a smoothie in order to get this range of essential nutrients.

Fish

It’s no secret that oily fish like tuna and salmon are great for getting your recommended dose of omega 3. This fatty acid is vital for brain and cardiovascular health, and is thought to reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease later on in life. As well as omega 3, fish can contain vitamins K, D and B, iron and potassium. Fish may not be the cheapest food to buy fresh, but there are plenty of tinned and frozen products that can give you the same health benefits.

Nuts and seeds

Nuts and seeds are another food group high in vitamins. Packed full of nutrients, nuts and seeds make a great snack for eating on the go. Most of them have high levels of B vitamins such as selenium and niacin, and can also help you get omega 3. Peanuts and cashews are great contenders in nutrition, and almonds famously contain high levels of vitamin E. Sunflower seeds have high levels of vitamin E for immunity and healthy clotting, and B vitamins support a healthy metabolism and prevent anemia.

Fruit

There’s no denying it: the easiest way to increase your levels of vitamin C is to eat fruit. The good news is that all fruits and a lot of vegetables contain good levels of vitamin C. Pineapples, oranges and strawberries are all high in vitamin C, as well as bell peppers, broccoli and Brussels sprouts. Vitamin C helps to keep skin, bones and cells healthy. Scurvy—a disease caused by lack of vitamin C—isn’t just for pirates. Up to eight percent of the population could have scurvy in the present day.